CSi Weather…

REST OF TODAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. SNOW … LITTLE
OR NO NEW SNOW ACCUMULATION. HIGHS AROUND 10. SOUTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
.TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS NEAR ZERO. SOUTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
.THURSDAY…CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. HIGHS AROUND 15. SOUTHEAST WINDS AROUND 10 MPH.
.THURSDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. LOWS 5 TO 10 ABOVE. SOUTH WINDS AROUND 5 MPH.
.FRIDAY…CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. HIGHS 15 TO
20. WEST WINDS AROUND 5 MPH.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS NEAR ZERO.
.SATURDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 15.
.SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE. HIGHS AROUND 15.
.MONDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE.
.NEW YEARS DAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS 15 TO 20.

 

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (AP) – Chaplains and volunteers are working to make North Dakota prisoners’ lives a little brighter behind bars this holiday season.

Chaplain Mark Haines ministers to the 420 men incarcerated at the James River Correctional Center. He says one prisoner Christmas Eve asked to light a candle and pray for his mom. Haines said that many prisoners worry about their families.

The prison’s warden, Don Redmann, says that while it’s subdued, there is “a sense of Christmas even in prison.”

Inmates at the Stutsman County Correctional Center will get a holiday meal of pork roast and Christmas cookies.

Two Christmas programs help inmates send gifts to their children with notes from their incarcerated dads, and the men also often send crocheted caps made by inmates to their youngsters.

 

Jamestown, ND (KCSi-T.V. News Dec 21, 2012) – The Boat & Water Safety Programs for area youth, ages 5 –12 years old, will be held on Thursday, December 27, 2012 at the James River Family “Y.”

The event is sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pipestem Dam and Lake Project with local cooperators….free of charge, and no registration is required.

Pipestem Dam, Manager, Bob Martin says while the course is geared for youth, anyone can attend, and learn more.

Martin said two course offerings are available at either 10-a.m., or 1-p.m.,

Both courses are the same.

Items To Be Discussed Include: Life Jackets (PFDs), Hypothermia, Boat

Safety Equipment, Ice Safety Rescue, and Boating “Rules of the Road”, and more.

Classroom instruction is first, followed by, all Participants being allowed to operate mini boats with electric trolling motors on the Y’s pool.

Participants do not need to wear swimsuits nor bring along lifejackets!

The Boat and Water Safety Course is sponsored By Corps of Engineers, Pipestem Dam and Lake Project.

Cooperators Include: Corps of Engineers, James River YMCA, Jamestown Fire Department, and North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

　

Jamestown, ND (KCSi-T.V. News Dec 21, 2012) — The U.S. Army Corps. Of Engineers reports, a water release from Pipestem Dam is two cubic feet of water/second (CFS), as of December 21, 2012.

On the Christmas Day edition (Dec 25, 2012) of the Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Pipestem Dam, Manager, Bob Martin, pointed out, at Pipestem Reservoir, conservation pool, occurred in mid-September 2012.

However, after freeze up the level crept up a bit, to need the release of 2 cfs.

Jamestown Reservoir inflows stopped in mid June, 2012, and there is no release presently being made, but Jamestown Reservoir also rose about 2-3 inches since October, 2012.

The rise stems from ground water going into the reservoirs, after freeze-up.

A landowner, south of Jamestown told Martin that his stock water pond dried up last fall, and then refilled, due to ground water, running into James River Tributaries after freeze-up.

Martin pointed out that it can take 50-years for ground water supplies to return to normal after either years of drought, or years of excess moisture added.

He reminds residents that due to springs and pressure ridges, local bodies of water have varying thickness of ice cover.

He said Jamestown Reservoir completely froze over about two weeks ago.

Martin added that the Corps of Engineers will periodically measure moisture supplies in the snowpack over the next few months to determine the likelihood of spring flooding.

The amount of moisture in the snowpack, along with the amount of spring rain will be closely monitored by the Corps and the National Weather service, with periodic reports issued.

 

Valley City, ND (KCSi-T.V. News Dec 24, 2012) — The Barnes County Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign netted nearly $45,000.

The goal was $32,000.

Co-event coordinator Joe Lunde points out, that a Barnes County family donated $5,000 to the campaign for the second consecutive year.

The family wishes to remain anonymous.

Lunde thanks individuals and organizations for donated their time as bell ringers.

Lunde passed along a special thanks to Al Trader Sr. who rang the bell for 20 years in a row.

Co-event coordinator Lee Isensee said the final numbers will be released later this week.

He and Lunde thanked everyone who contributed to the Kettles during the “Red Kettle Campaign” this year.

 

  FARGO, N.D. (AP) – After 17 years as Santa’s helper, Luann Gross is retiring next month from the U.S. Postal Service in downtown Fargo.
 
     Since 1995, Gross has helped Santa answer letters mailed to the North Pole from children in Fargo and nearby communities. For the past century, local postmasters have been authorized to let postal employees help Santa respond to letters.
 
     Gross says  letters she remembers the most are from kids who ask for things for other people or who ask for just one thing instead of long lists of requests.
 
     Gross started working for the postal service in 1984 and began responding to letters to Santa in 1995.

 

 MINOT, N.D. (AP) – A Minot man is accused of punching a police officer in the face after authorities responded to an alleged domestic disturbance on Christmas Eve.
 
     Police say 32-year-old Joshua Brydon, of Minot, is charged with simple assault during domestic violence, assault on a peace officer, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
 
     Authorities say one officer suffered an eye injury during the scuffle, which occurred about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
 
     Brydon was transported to the Ward County Jail.

 

  MINOT, N.D. (AP) – Residents from a North Dakota city in the middle of the state’s oil patch say it’s getting harder to hail a taxi.
 
     Representatives from two cab companies in Minot say increases in population, airplane flights, hotels and traffic have doubled the time it takes to respond to calls for service.
 
Customers have been waiting up to half an hour for a cab.
 
     Chris Braun, manager of Central Cab, says some people are also requesting longer rides. Her cabs have taken customers to Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota.
 
     Braun says it’s also becoming more difficult to retain drivers and dispatchers.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The Watford City building inspector says he hopes a new ordinance will help protect people from contractors who do shoddy work, charge high prices and then leave the western North Dakota town.
 
     Steven Williams says he’s persuaded the city council to require that contractors register and get a city license so he can keep track of who is working in town.
 
     The new ordinance takes effect Jan. 1.  A city license will cost $50, and working without one can bring a $250 fine.
 
     Williams says he’s seen problems with a roofing contractor and a plumber who did sewer and water work.
 
     Williams says most contractors are reliable, but the oil boom has attracted some who are not.

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The National Weather Service says the Missouri River in Burleigh and Morton counties has iced over, reducing the risk of floods caused by ice jams.
 
     Bill Abeling, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck, says river levels increased from 5.3 feet Monday to 8.5 feet Tuesday at the city water treatment plant.
 
     Abeling says flood stage in Bismarck is 14.5 feet, and a flood watch would be issued if the river level gets above 11 feet.
 
     Officials say there is always some risk of flooding when ice forms on the river and again during breakup in the spring.

 

  BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota agency that oversees pension funds for state employees and public school teachers says it is invested in two gun companies. Data from the North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office show the agency’s $3.79 billion portfolio includes about 3,100 shares worth more than $39,000 in gun-makers Sturm Ruger and Smith & Wesson.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – State and federal agencies are working to extinguish underground coal fires in Slope and McKenzie Counties.
 
     Officials say the subterranean fire in Slope County has been burning since 2008, and the fire in McKenzie County has been burning since 1999.
 
     Coal bed fires are usually related to prairie fires.
 
     Officials say a $27,000 grant is being used to battle the below-ground blazes.  They say the plan is to use earthmoving equipment to dig across burning coal seams, and backfill the trenches with dirt.
 
     Geologists say explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark noted underground coal fires during a visit to North Dakota two centuries ago.

 

 WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) – The city of Williston has announced plans to annex 4,800 acres north of the city.
 
     City officials say the annexation is needed to keep pace with the region’s oil boom.
 
     The city currently occupies about 8,100 acres or about 12.6 square miles.  That’s up from about seven square miles in 2006. The so-called “North Annexation” would enlarge the city to more than 20 square miles.
 
     Officials say there are about 1,000 properties located in the proposed annexation. Nearly half of acreage is agriculture at present.
 
     A public hearing on the plan is slated for late January.

 

In sports…

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is reminding anglers that unoccupied fish houses left on the ice this winter must float. Fish houses also can’t be placed closer than 50 feet to another house without consent.

 

NATIONAL  BASKETBALL  ASSOCIATION
 
   Final    Boston                  93    Brooklyn                76
   Final    L-A  Lakers        100    New  York                94
   Final    Miami                  103    Oklahoma  City      97
   Final    Houston              120    Chicago                  97
   Final    L-A  Clippers    112    Denver                  100
 
 
       TOP-25  COLLEGE  BASKETBALL
 
   Final    (  3)  Arizona      68    (17)  San  Diego  St.      67

 

College Football…

 HOUSTON (AP) – A Texas Tech official says three Red Raiders won’t be playing against Minnesota in Friday’s Meineke (MY’-neh-kee) Car Care Bowl because they violated team rules.
 
     He says Red Raiders starting defensive back Cornelius Douglas, Chris Payne, a linebacker who played mostly on Texas Tech’s special teams, and backup defensive tackle Leon Mackey won’t play in the bowl game.
 
     The 7-5 Red Raiders take on the 6-6 Gophers about three weeks after Tommy Tuberville unexpectedly left to take the head coaching position at Cincinnati. Interim head coach Chris Thomsen, who handled the offensive line under Tuberville, will coach the bowl game.
 
     Former Red Raiders standout quarterback Kliff Kingsbury was hired as Tuberville’s successor Dec. 12.

 

In world and national news…

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) – A lot of people who traveled for Christmas may have their work cut out for them as they try to get home today. Hundreds of flights have been canceled as a storm system that brought nearly three dozen tornadoes to the Deep South moves northward. Severe thunderstorms are forecast for the Carolinas. And a line of blizzard and storm warnings stretches from Arkansas up the Ohio River to New York and all the way to Maine.
 
     HONOLULU (AP) – His wife and daughters will continue their Hawaii vacation, but President Barack Obama will be headed back to Washington later today. Obama normally extends his end-of-the-year holiday into the New Year, but not this time — with the clock ticking down to automatic spending cuts and tax increases that economists say could throw the country back into a recession.
 
     NEW YORK (AP) – Stock futures are moving higher before the latest data is released on the housing market, one of the bright spots of the year with just a few trading days left. Volume is extremely light, because of the holidays and because markets are still seeking a resolution to the budget showdown in Washington.
 
     WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) – Residents of a suburban Rochester, N.Y., neighborhood have been allowed to return to their homes. The neighborhood was gutted by a fire set by a man who then shot four volunteer firefighters, killing two of them. Seven homes were destroyed and two others were damaged in the Christmas Eve fire.
 
     MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s president will be deciding in the next couple of weeks whether to sign a measure that would ban Americans from adopting Russian children. Russian activists have spoken against the bill that won final approval in parliament today, saying it victimizes children by depriving them of the chance to escape Russian orphanages. President Vladimir Putin has called it a legitimate response to a new U.S. law calling for sanctions against Russians who are found to be human rights violators.